Page 88 - Managing the Mobile Workforce

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cially for managers and executives. It had delivered the truth
I needed to hear. To this day, the name badge I wore at the
seminar is still placed on the dashboard of my SUV— in plain
view for everyone, and especially me, to see. It says, “It’s
your brand—own it.” Since that seminar I have thought often
and deeply about how others perceive me in a virtual online
world, and especially as a remote mobile worker who con-
nects with clients, executives, managers, and team workers
using technology and through my personal, virtual brand
“me.”
–DaviD Clemons

leadership presence and the mobile workforce
Stage presence is that quality some actors have in person or on the
screen to draw people to them. Some think it is inborn magnetism,
and some believe it can be learned. Some people just seem to have “it,”
and we laugh at them even before they tell the joke, cry with them
as if our own best friend died right up there on stage, and consider
ourselves part of their family. When some actors walk on stage, even
in something as large as a stadium, they own us, we are connected to
them, and we feel like they are performing just for us.
Belle Linda Halpern and Kathy Lubar, coauthors of the book
Leadership Presence, make the link between stage presence and lead-
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ership presence. Leadership presence to them is “the ability to con-
nect authentically with the thoughts and feelings of others in order
to motivate and inspire them to achieve a desired outcome.” They
propose four steps to cultivate it, using the acronym PRES: P means
Being Present, which is being fully focused on what is going on. R
stands for Reaching Out by listening to others and building authentic
relationships. E represents Expressiveness, using words, the tone and
rate of speech, and body language to express messages clearly and to
take advantage of the power of communication. Self-knowing is rep-
resented by S. That means being self-aware, guided by priorities and